What is proration or prorate?

[Cody21]

I got done chatting with an AT&T rep. about switching to a mobile share plan so I could take advantage of Facetime over cellular and mobile hotspot. She asked me if I wanted to go ahead and make the switch and if I wanted it to start today and I said yes. She replied back and said that it'll need to go into effect on my next billing cycle (the 10th) due to proration. What is proration?

 

[inselstudent]

http://m.voices.yahoo.com/proration-phone-company-trying-screw-you-2597303.html

It's explained there. And apparently it's a good thing to wait a couple of days until the end of your billing cycle to avoid proration.

 

[willmtaylor]

I got done chatting with an AT&T rep. about switching to a mobile share plan so I could take advantage of Facetime over cellular and mobile hotspot. She asked me if I wanted to go ahead and make the switch and if I wanted it to start today and I said yes. She replied back and said that it'll need to go into effect on my next billing cycle (the 10th) due to proration. What is proration?

Prorating is a common term with many types of contracts (including rental agreements and cellular agreements).

It means that you are charged a portion of your final bill for a few days until the contract ends or begins. The charge is usually the final bill divided by 30 (30 days in a month). So if my contract doesn't begin for two more days, and my total bill wil be $60, I'll be charged $4 ($2 per day, prorated).

Does that make sense? It can be done with money or with data/minutes, so if you're given 1 GB do data and 1000 minutes on your plan, just divide those by 30 and then multiply those numbers by how many days you're being prorated.

Hope this helps,
Will

 

[dictoresno]

as the others have said, it basically charges you for time left in the billing cycle. i just switched to verizon from at&t. they began my service immediately, but there were only two days left in my new verizon fixed cycle. so on my first bill, they charged me for 2 days + my whole next month. in those two days, i had my full bucket of minutes, messages and data, but was only charged $5.95 ($2.95 per day).

lets say your plan is $100 a month and your cycle, for easy sake, is 10/1-10/31. lets say you sign up for service on 10/15. they cant charge you $100 (a whole months worth) if you will only be using a half month. therefore, they prorate it and only charge you $50. now some carriers may decide to also prorate your minutes and messages, depending on their terms. at&t did this to me years ago. so lets say your plan is for 900 minutes/month. prorated, they will only be offering you 450 of those for the rest of your cycle. but now with the new share plans, they are unlimited so it isnt an issue. got it?

 

[Interstella5555]

pro·rate (pr-rt, prrt)
v. pro·rat·ed, pro·rat·ing, pro·rates
v.tr.
To divide, distribute, or assess proportionately.
v.intr.
To settle affairs on the basis of proportional distribution.

You're on a contract to pay $50 a month for service, but change to a $100 contact with a week left on your current cycle. They'll bill you $75 for the month ($50 for your existing contract and $25 for the prorated amount of your new one).

 

[darngooddesign]

If you are 90% of the way to the end of your billing cycle, you will pay 10% of the full amount.

 

[ET iPhone Home]

EXpect a huge bill. Proration is what shocks everyone when they get that bill which is why I wait to renew on the start of my billing cycle to avoid this.